Gear train for water meters



Nov. 13, 1928.

R. A. ANDERSON.

GEAR TRAIN FOR WATER METERS Filed March 11, 1927 CR 8 INVENT:0R.-

A TTORNEY Patented Nov; 13, 1928.

UNITED STATES 1,691,039 PATENT .QFFICE,

ROBERT A. nmEnson, or non'rcnnm, NEw-JEns'EY, Assmnon. r canon METER oomrnmr, or NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, A conrona'r on or NEW JERSEY.

- GEAR TRAIN FOR WATER ME'1ERS.

Application filed March 11, 1927. Serial No. 174,808.

may be caused to adhere, due to the lIIlPllrities and chemical action of the water on the shafts.

While's'uch shafts are usually made of a 1 phosphor bronze alloy, it is found in practice that fine particles, entrained in the water, which may be considered as impurities, or such as may be caused by corrosion from chemicals in solution, can and do find their way between the rotativewheels and body of a bare shaftfcausing the same to stick and fail to function properly, destroying the perfection of operation of the wheels and hence rendering the meter unreliable. This is more particularly noticeable in counting or accumulative registering trains in which the units wheel is frequently moved while the next adjacent wheel, moved by a carrying gear, is rotated at one tenth 2 the number of revolutions, and the remaining wheels in like reduced proportion, the last, in a train of five, moving from one numeral space to another but once during,

the time the first wheel has revolved ten so thousand times. I

-' Such sluggish and irregular movementof the less frequently operated wheels, and

also the corresponding carrying gears is highly conducive to a condition called freezing, that is adhesion to the shaft,

'ag avated by impurities in thewater. he main object of the invention is therefore to provides casing or sleeve permanently fixed at the shaft, suchsleeve being of an imperviousnature, presenting ahard unyielding bod acting as a lubricant or insulator for t e parts rotatable thereon 1 and while 'fixed on the shaft, will not freeze or cohere to the bores of such parts.

4b This important object is attained by the" novel construction and combination of parts similarly mdependently mounted.

hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming a material i part'of this disclosure, and in which o tiona Figured is a top plan view of a conven-v wheels and carrying ears as mounted on shafts made in a'ccor ance with the inven-' tiom in the'bracketg 13.

water meter showing the counting.

Figure 2is a front elevational view of the same. I J

is an end view thereof, one of Figure 3 the gear train sup orts being omitted;

' Figure 4: is a ragmentary'longitudinal' sectional view of an end wheelgunit as mounted on its shaft, drawn to .an enlarged sca e.

Figure 5 is a similar; view of aportion of the carrying gear and its mount as used in the train.

Theregistering device shown consists of a. frame composed [of two metallic discs 10 and 11, respectively front and rear, the front disc having a substantially central, elongated rectangular aperture 12.

These discs are rigidl connected together in spaced relation by p ate bracket s'13 dis-- posed adjacently outward beyond the ends of the aperture 12. I a

Aspindle 14 is journalled in the discs,

centrally below the a erture to extendoutwardly atthe rear, t is spindle being connectedin the usual manner with the driving mechanism of the 'meter (not shown).

Fixed on the spindle, adjacent the rear disc 11, is a spur gear 15, in'mesh with a pinion 16 secured on another spindle 17 mounted at its ends in the respective discs and also carrying a worm 18 adapted to transmit motion to a spur gear 19 located on a shaft 20 having reduced ends 21 journalled The gear 19 constitutes' part or unit registering element of the train wheels and is revoluble' with a spacer 22 havingan annular 23 juxtaposed with a countin .wheel 24' bearingnumerals from 0 to. 9- an having fixed on its opposite side I a disc 25 in the periphery of which is formed two teeth. i,

, The spacer 22 is reduced at its ends to act as a sleeve on which the counting wheel of the first 24 and disc '25'are fixed 'in addition to the s I gear 19, to rotate freely, as; a unit, onthe shaft 20, each of'tlievr'einaining 'units heing Adjacent the disc'l25 is I a spur ear mounted alongside another counting w eel,

at the opposite side of which is another disc having a panof teeth, the gear, wheel and disc being 'fixed on a sleeve revoluble on the on a sleeve 31, in this case having a flange 32 in place of a disc, it being the end unit.

Another shaft 33, having its reduced ends 34 fixedly mounted in the brackets 13, parallel to the shaft 20, has revolubly mounted upon it a series of mutilated carrying pinions 35 arranged to engage the gears in each unit to advance the Wheels one tenth of a revolution, the carrying pinions being cut away at intervals, the remaining portions riding on the peripheries of the discs 25 and engaging the teeth therein whereby the gear in the next unit is rotated such proportion 'of a revolution as to disclose the next higher numeral on the counting wheel forming part of that unit, the wheels being seen through the aperture 12 in the front plate.

The foregoing is generally descriptiveof ments and it is also possible to form the sheaths in short sections if preferred.

\Vhile certain preferred embodiments of this device have been shown and described, it

will be understood that changes in the form,

arrangements, proportions, sizes and details thereof may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. 1

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is i 1. Phosphor bronze shafts as used in water well known counting registers for meters etc., meters, and sheaths of non-corrodible mateand is not new, the invention residing, in the improved shafts 20 and 33, which may be made of any metal, phosphor bronze being preferred because of its immunity from corrosion as compared with other common metals that might be used for the purpose;

Extending around the shafts 20 and 33 are sheaths 20 and 33 composed of molded graphite, hard'rubber, porcelain or other rigid impervious material, shrunk, vulcaniz'ed or otherwise permanently fixed to be come substantially a unit, these sheaths havrial secured on said shafts to form a unit therewithgsaid sheaths acting as journals for members mounted thereon.

Phosphor bronze shafts as used in water meters, and uniformly thick bearing sleeves of non-metallic substance 'fixed permanently on said shafts, said sheaths acting as ournals for members mounted thereon.

This specification signed and witnessed this seventh day of March, 1927.

' ROBERT AIA NDERSON. 

